


Tag

by Nozoroomie



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Au where Eli is a figure skater and NozoNico are hockey players, F/F, Happy birthday Eli!!!, ILY, Multi, it was meant to be more romance but it didn't turn out that way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-24 00:17:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8348806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nozoroomie/pseuds/Nozoroomie
Summary: As a figure skater, Eli finds herself envious of others for being able to skate as a hobby and have the sport feel like anything but work. With some help from a couple new friends, Eli's soon learning that there may be more times when skating should feel just as its supposed to- fun.





	

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELI!! and hello everyone! Long time since I posted a story;;; I apologize for that! Real life and writers block have been kicking my butt lately.
> 
> Honestly I feel like my summary and title might not do the story justice but I still hope you enjoy it ;u;!  
> the alternate title was forbidden friendship but I felt the only real part of the story that connected to is a certain scene. (read the end notes to find out why!)

There’s lots of laughter from younger kids and plenty of muffled conversations around the large arena as Eli sits on a bench just outside the ice rink. Lately, there were more times for the public to enjoy the rink and some skating time inside of it. Eli isn’t sure why, but it doesn’t really matter anyway. As long as it doesn’t interfere with her skating schedule, she’s good with anything the owners decide to do with the arena.

Part of her would love to get her skates on and join the rest of the people out there, but she knows well enough the kind of lecture her coach might give her. She sighs just imagining the different things she might say to her.

“You’ll tire yourself out before practice! Save your energy for focusing on your routine! Don’t wear yourself out!” 

Eli places her elbow on her knee and rest her chin in her hand, watching the skaters move around the ice. On the opposite side a young couple each hold onto the hand of a small child, helping them get a feel of the ice and learn how to skate along it. Not far from them are a small group of teen girls, laughing amongst each other and skating idly as they talk. There are a few teen boys that have been competing off and on, showing their speed and racing around the other people too. So many different people catch her eyes and she finds herself envying them.

She wishes skating was still just a hobby for her.

A couple of new people are quick catch her eyes, distracting her from her negative thoughts. The two of them are on the side closest to her, one of them wearing her hair up in two high pigtails on the side of her head with bright red ribbons and the other in a somewhat similar hair style, but in lower twin tails that are held together by scrunchies. The girl with the higher pigtails wears bright pink fluffy ear muffs, while the second girl has a bright yellow toque covering the top of her head.They aren’t moving much, they seem to be caught in a conversation as they balance on the ice with ease.

Her eyes lingers on their outfits, the hatted girl wearing some kind of purple and black plaid flannel that hugs her curves nicely. Her hands are adorned with a pair of black gloves and like her shirt, her jeans hug her rolls in all the right ways. She begins to laugh, and Eli blushes as she sees the dimples on her cheeks stand out more. She moves her gaze over to the other girl that laughs along with her friend. Her light pink sweater reads “I  ❤︎ me” and instead of gloves, she wears some really soft, fuzzy looking mittens. Eli recognizes them as a pair similar to one she has at home. It makes her smile just a bit and she goes on to see her legs are covered in a simple white skirt and light coloured tights. Aside from her ribbons and bright coloured ear muffs, the smaller girl looks the most fashionable on the ice.

She stares for a bit too long and when she decides to look away, she notices the both of them have stopped laughing are are facing in her direction. She sits up, looking at their faces and feeling her own heat up as two pairs of eyes gaze right back at her. Eli averts her gaze almost instantly. It’s embarrassing enough to be sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the public skate time to end and for her practice time to begin, but knowing she got caught staring at the girls on the ice made her feel self conscious. Maybe she should leave, step out to the cafe and pick up a hot chocolate or something, anything to avoid any more awkward looks between them.

As she stands, grabbing her bag and getting ready to make her exit, she pauses noticing the girl with the higher pigtails has started to skate. She recognizes the stride, the girls form, the small spin she does before turning to glance at her and they remind her of her earlier days in figure skating. Eli’s eyes make a brief moment of eye contact with the other girl and Eli swears she catches a tiny wink being thrown her way before she skates back towards her friend.

Eli watches as the two of them skate around the same area, their gazes always looking back to make sure Eli is watching. She puts her bag down, unable to take her gaze from them as the two begin short speed drills, racing past her from one end of the ice to the other. The chubbier girl is slower than the shorter one, but what she lacks in speed she makes up for with stamina. By the end of their racing, the shorter girl is breathing heavily and leaning over with her hands on her knees while the chubbier one taunts her by skating around her in a circle and giggling. Eli smiles at the sight when the one being teased shoves at her friend with a tired smirk. 

The girl realizes a bit too late she’s put too much force in the shove and Eli watches as she tips forward dangerously, almost losing her balance. She gasps, watching with wide eyes and waiting for her to collide face first into the ice. She subconsciously leans forward in anticipation.

It never happens. Her friend is there quickly to grab her by the hand, pulling her upward before she can fall completely forward. The force of the way she yanks her is a bit too rough, and instead of setting her back on her feet the girl with the earmuffs tips backwards. In an effort to stabilize her, the other girl grabs her with her other arm and instead of the two of them tumbling backward, they end up in an odd, dipping sort of position. Purple hair frames their faces as both of them pause, unable to believe neither of them have toppled over just yet.

Eli snorts and covers her mouth. What an absolutely ridiculous position to be in, and all to stop the other girl from falling over. Her smile is wide underneath her hands and she does everything in her power to resist giggling. The effort is in vain the moment the one dipping the other tries to pull her up, not having enough grip and slipping. The two of them fall flat on the ice in a pile of purple and pink and Eli’s hands move from her mouth as she bursts into a loud fit of laughter.

The girls sitting on the ice glance over to where Eli stands and the two don’t stop their own giggles as they watch her. They continue to sit there, laughing with the blonde until the sound of a horn goes off, letting the people know that public skate time is officially over and it’s time to clear the ice. They push themselves up, patting themselves down and making sure neither of them fell too hard. When they look towards the outside to see if the blonde is still around, they both are disappointed to see that along with many of the people on the ice, she’s gone. They linger for only a moment before skating off to the exit and heading towards their duffle bags to change back into their shoes. 

* * *

 

Eli steps out of her car, fifteen minutes early for practice as she always is. She’s already changed into her training clothes, ready for today’s skating practice. She enters the arena, hearing a surprising amount of noise coming from the rink. Did the coach plan to have a bigger practice today? Curiosity gets the better of her and she opens up the doors in time with the sound of a loud whistle being blown. Eli winces from the high pitched volume and almost misses the shout of someone yelling “TEN MINUTES! ”

The blonde frowns, rubbing her ears and stepping through the door. She walks over to the ice and quickly finds her coach, who glowers on the sidelines as she watches the display of hockey players in a game of scrimmage. She looks out to the rink and watches as well, recognizing the symbol on the front of the jerseys almost immediately.

“The national hockey team?” She asks out loud, surprising her coach.

“Ah, Eli. You’ve arrived.” The coach clears her throat and nods. “Looks like it. Their rink is going under renovations, so they’ll be practicing in ours for about a month.”

Eli nods in understanding. The coach seems to be bothered by the cut in her early ice prep time, but Eli finds she doesn’t really mind. It is the national hockey team after all, the guys out there probably need as much practice as they can get. Eli didn’t know much about the national hockey team, but she hoped this season went well for them.

“YAZAWA! GO IN FOR THE SHOT!” The coach yells with his hands cupped around his mouth. 

And It’s a chance the hockey player takes, aiming the hockey stick and striking the puck with a decent amount of force. The puck almost glides right between the goalies legs but just before it passes the red line, the goalie scoops it up in their mitt. The coach blows the whistle and everyone on the ice relaxes. Everyone begins skating towards a bench area, one not so far away from where Eli and her coach stand. Along the way a couple meet up with one another, bumping their gloves and laughing to themselves. Once most of the team is present the coach begins going off on things they improved on, and things they’ll definitely want to work on. 

Eli finds herself watching the team as they pay attention the coach, listening to his small speech about things they should improve on, things they’re doing great, and different plays they might practice the following day. Eli’s focus drifts and her eyes drift from him to the different players. Everyone keeps their helmets on, some lifting their visors to take a swig from their water bottles and others continuing to listen intently to their coach. She gazes at the players that still linger on the ice, one of them being the goalie. She stares at the equipment for a moment, slowly looking up to find that the goalie is staring directly at her. Eli’s face flushes and she immediately glances away, wondering just how long they had been staring back at her.

“Alright ladies that’s it! Practice is over! Get your stuff and get outta here.” The coach shouts. 

Eli pauses. Ladies?! Did she hear that right?

Her eyes immediately turn back to the hockey team and Eli watches as several different team members begin ridding themselves of their head gear and revealing their faces for the first time since she arrived. Girls with long hair tied in tight buns, girls with short, messy unkempt hair, and girls who were drenched in sweat and water were quickly gathering their things. Most talked amongst each other while they grab their gear and made their way towards the locker rooms. 

Eli’s eyes land on a petite girl, the one with the jersey reading number ‘25’. The moment she rid herself of her helmet, Eli’s eyes zoom in. This girl’s tiny- it was absolutely impossible for her to be bigger than five feet. But her face has nothing but a confidant smirk on it as the coach begins talking with her one on one. A smirk that seems all too familiar to her. When Eli thinks about it, the ruby eyes of hers catch her attention as well. Where had she seen them before?

It hits her when the goalie walks into her line of view, pulling off her helmet and letting two long, violet pigtails fall out of its confines. Eli’s mouth dries and she watches the girl shake her head a bit, letting the violet tresses cascade behind her like some dark purple waterfall Eli’s lucky to see. They were the girls from the other day, during the public skate time. She dry swallows and her eyes are glued onto the girl as she turns towards her, half lidded green eyes looking her way and a smile of recognition forming on her lips. Eli can already feel the blush rising on her cheeks and how her ears are burning. The almost stranger gives her a small wave before the shorter girl comes up behind her, patting her on the back and taking her attention away from Eli for only a moment. Words are said between them and both girls look back towards Eli. She hastily glances away, but not quick enough to see a smirk forming on the shorter girl's face.

It isn’t long before her coach taps her on the shoulder, pulling her attention away from the other two and reminding her it’s time for practice. Eli ignores all lingering thoughts of the hockey players and instead focuses on what kind of moves her coach will have her practice today. She sits on the bench and slips on her skates, tying them tightly with gloved hands and standing up carefully.

Even with thoughts of them pushed to the back of her mind, Eli finds it a bit harder to ignore their burning stares as she steps onto the ice for the first time that day.

* * *

 

Practice ends and with that her coach leaves. Eli lingers in the arena, not quite ready to leave just yet. It would be open for another couple hours, and she wanted to take some time to herself. She stands at the entrance of the ice, closing her eyes and focusing on the cool air that surrounds her.

She takes a deep breath in and lets a slow breath out. There’s nobody else around. She doesn’t need to nail any landings, there’s no time limit for her right now. She isn’t required to show off her tricks. It’s just her and the ice- only Eli and the rink. Free time to herself is so rare with may competitions just around the corner, but it’s well needed.

Times like these remind Eli why she plays the sport in the first place.

With the ice rink being as empty as it is, there’s nobody in the office to put a song on for her to skate along to. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pair of wireless headphones, slipping the buds in her ears carefully before grabbing her phone. After only a bit of scrolling she picks her current go to motivation song- a score from a popular animated film that Eli can’t seem to stop listening to.

Eli steps onto the ice and skates towards its center. She closes her eyes and envisions a performance as she always does. She shifts her hand to her pocket, hovering over where she knows the play button is and hitting it, allowing the song to begin playing. Her body moves itself into a starting pose and she can feel the imaginary spotlight on her. Eyes of hundreds of nonexistent people look to her in anticipation and with only a slight push, Eli begins to skate. Her feet glide along the ice carefully as she pays attention to only the song and the speed she skates at.

She becomes lost in the feeling. Adrenaline courses through her veins and with a push of her feet she’s in the air, spinning once and landing gracefully on her skates, gliding along the ice with ease. A smile forms on her face as the figure skater begins to skate backwards and she moves with confidence.

As a child, Eli was quite fond of dancing.She loved the way she got lost in the music, the choreography, the spins, and the proud looks her mother and grandmother gave her after each performance. Even the ones that didn’t end so well, they still encouraged her to give it her all. When dance wasn’t quite working out, Eli decided to enroll into figure skating. Skating seemed a lot similar to dance, but with skates. It couldn’t possibly be that hard, could it?

She learnt the hard way just how silly it was to compare two sports that seemed similar. Skating didn’t come easily to the blonde, and she had almost given up after landing on her bottom too many times. It was thanks to her teacher and grandmother that Eli decided to continue, opting out of competitive skating and simply doing it just for fun. The more Eli worked at it because she wanted to, the better she became. Soon Eli found herself entering competitions just for the heck of it, and coming out with more than just a ‘thanks for participating!’ prize. Eli was shining the way she had always wanted to during dance class.

Eli hadn’t truly considered a career in skating. She didn’t want her fun hobby to feel like work to her. She took skating very seriously, but when she compared herself to the big league skaters, she always felt as if she fell flat. She would never reach their league- skating was their lives. Skating was everything to them. For Eli, it was important, but not something she could dedicate her whole life to. It’s her hobby; her way of escaping life’s hardships whenever she could. Nothing more, and nothing less, really.

At least, she tried to tell herself that when she moved to Japan seven years ago. When sign ups for the junior figure skaters division caught her eye and she didn’t stop herself from joining. She caught the coaches eyes almost immediately and had been sucked into competitive sports hell just like that. She thinks back to that time with a small ounce of regret. If she hadn’t been so keen on entering more competitions, maybe she’d still have more times like this to skate with herself. Maybe she would still have fun skating.

She glides along with one leg in the air, paying attention to how the song gets closer to its final verses. When the right moment came, Eli would leap and stick the landing and to finish the routine off, she would pirouette as fast as she could. Just as she always practiced. She glides just along the the perimeter of the ice rink, oblivious to everything as she skates by the entrance that cracks open just a bit. 

Two people enter the arena, not at all surprised to find someone still skating. They watch the blonde glide by them again. One girl smiles warmly while the other shakes her head, sighing quietly to herself.

“Looks like you were right,” The shorter one comments, brushing a strand of black hair behind her ear. “She really is still here.”

“Always trust the cards, Nicocchi~” The taller one laughs, her eyes never leaving Eli.

“All the cards told you -essentially- was today would be interesting if you did things differently.” The first girl retorts. “The rest was all you.”

She watches Eli lower her leg, pushing off closer to the center and frowns.

“But really, what is she still doing here?” She asks, “If she’s a figure skater that means she’s probably gunna be in the competition in three weeks. If she overworks herself now, there goes all this time prepping for it.

Her companion looks at her with a knowing gaze.

“Hmm, sounds like someone’s speaking from experience.” 

“Shut up Nozomi.” Nico grumbles. “That’s all ancient history, I’ve moved past it.”

Nozomi laughs lightly, stepping closer to the ice.

“Well, why don’t we ask her why she’s still here then?” She asks. 

“Great idea, let’s just interrupt her mid routine and-” 

Nico stops talking when Eli suddenly leaps into the air, spinning three times and sticking her landing perfectly. Her legs don’t even falter as she skates around and back into the center of the ice. With the speed left from her landing Eli clasps her hands together, lifts her knee and begins to spin. The faster she moves, the higher her arms go, and both her observers find themselves growing dizzy as her hair flies around her and the leg she has up slowly descends back to the ice. 

The pirouette ends with an abrupt stop as Eli digs her skates into the ice and gestures towards the almost empty stands. Her breathing is labored and one of her earbuds has grown loose, but the song is now at its end and her smile is nothing but dazzling. Strands of loose hair fall from her pony tail and for Eli all she can feel is that post performance feeling of a successful routine. 

Nico’s voice is caught in her throat. All annoyance towards Nozomi’s suggestion is lost as her mind replays the incredible display over and over again. Her red eyes are wide and a slight blush tints her cheeks. If Nozomi hadn’t been standing next to her, she might even be gaping. 

When Nico glances to her left she notices Nozomi’s grip on her bag has loosened. Her eyes are glued to the figure skater as well, a slight blush tinting her own cheeks. Last week it had been the two of them trying to impress the other girl as she sat along the sidelines by herself, but this week the tables were turned. Now it was the two of them being completely charmed by the incredible athlete.

On the ice, Eli reaches into her pocket and grabs her phone. She turns her music off and pulls her headphones out, sighing contently. The free skating was short, but good. A nice break from practice and the other routine her coach has been pushing her for. She pushes herself towards the exit, skating with ease and beginning to think about what she should pick up for dinner tonight.

At the sight of the girl skating towards the exit, Nico imemediately grabs Nozomi by the arm and pulls her towards the locker rooms.

“Ah-” Nozomi gasps, startled from the sudden movement. She stumbles clumsily after Nico, who glances to her and whispers.

“L-let’s just leave. We don’t want to embarrass her or anything, right?” 

Nozomi snorts, covering her mouth and holding back a chortle.

“Did I hear that right~?” She teases. “I thought we were going to tell the skater not to overwork herself~”

“S-shut up!” Nico shouts, a bit louder than intended. 

They both pause and look over to the ice, finding the other girl half way off the ice and staring directly at them. Nico screams internally. Nozomi does the opposite, calling out to the figure skater.

“Hey!” She shouts with a grin. “Fancy seeing you still here!”

The blonde chooses to ignore them, hastily moving from the door towards a bench, where a duffle bag hides just to the side of it. The two hockey players watch as she begins to hurriedly untie her skates. Nozomi doesn’t hesitate to grab Nico’s hand, pulling her along as she walks over to see the other girl.

“You’re here a bit late, aren’t ya?” She asks, not caring much about the lack of reply from her greeting.

“Er, yes.” Eli replies stiffly, not looking away from her skates. 

“Did we interrupt? Sorry about that, Nicocchi forgot something in the locker room and we heard the skates, so we got curious and came to check it out.”

“I didn’t-AH” An elbow to the ribs cuts Nico off and she now rubs the sore area with a frown.

“Do you remember us?!” Nozomi asks, covering up Nico’s objection. “We saw you last week during the free skate. You were sitting on the sides just watching and Nicocchi and I were trying to show off.”

Eli pauses for a moment before nodding to them both.

“I remember. You were both quite fast on the ice and you slipped.” She resists the urge to smile as she glances to Nico, who looks away with an embarrassed blush.

Nozomi grins.

“That was us!” She laughs, gesturing to herself and the girl next to her. “I’m Tojo Nozomi. This is Yazawa Nicocchi.”

“It’s Nico. Yazawa Nico.” Nico corrects.

Despite the embarrassed feeling that lingers, Eli gives them a small smile and introduces herself.

“Ayase Eli.” 

The eyes of the two in front of her seem to light up a bit more, and Eli excuses herself for a moment to finish taking off her skates. She takes them off with care, putting the skate guards back onto the blades and placing them inside her bag. She pulls out a clean pair of socks from the side pocket and it’s then that Nozomi speaks again.

“So you’re a figure skater?” 

Eli nods only once.

“Just like Nicocchi then!” 

“Really?!” Eli looks up in surprise, quirking her eyebrow at Nico. Truth be told, she could tell just from the way Nico had been skating last week she had definitely been a figure skater at some point. Nico sighs and corrects Nozomi’s statement.

“Ex figure skater. I stopped years ago.” She explains. “It’s a long story.”

A small silence settles over the three of them. Eli wonders if she should comment, or just drop the subject. The mood is a bit hard to read and she awkwardly throws on her shoes, tying the laces quickly and checking her bag to make sure everything is in its place. She gets ready to stand, throwing the bag over her shoulder and looking at the girls. She mulls over different ways of saying goodbye for the day, wondering what might sound best.

* * *

 

Fifteen minutes later, Eli finds herself sitting across from the other two with a large steaming mug of hot chocolate in the cafe just across the street from the arena. Being invited out for coffee spontaneously isn’t exactly common for Eli, and if she was a bit more honest, the two girls did pique her interest quite a bit. She accepted their offer hesitantly, but the lack of conversation between the three of them left her feeling awkward. What was something she could say? She didn’t know them very well, and Eli never had been good with small talk. Her interviews with sports magazines made that quite clear the moment they moved away from skating as a topic.

She’s lucky she doesn’t have to mull over that thought for long when Nozomi asks her a question.

“So how long have you been skating?” 

“Since I was nine.” Eli replies with a smile. “I quit dancing to become a skater. I would enter competitions from time to time, but it didn’t become serious until I moved to Japan.”

“I knew you weren’t from here!” Nico boasts,“The blonde hair is a giveaway, but so are your eyes. You don’t see many people around here with eyes as bright blue as yours.”

“Ah, thank you.” Eli blushes from the compliment, awkwardly smiling and looking into her mug. 

“Do you care if we ask where you’re from?” Nico follows up, eyeing her curiously as if trying to make a silent guess about her home country.

“Russia,” Eli answers, “My grandmother is Japanese and my grandfather was Russian. I was raised here for a couple years when I was a kid, but I don’t remember much of it. We moved to Russia when my grandfather retired and when he passed away, we came back here.”

Nozomi smiles. 

“Russian winters are cold, but very beautiful.” She says in a matter of fact tone. 

“You’ve been to Russia?!” Eli’s eyes light up just a bit and her smile grows. 

“I was there for a week or two when I was a kid. My parents traveled a lot for their work and they ended up having to travel to Russia for a little while. Since I was too small to be on my own, I got to go on quite a few trips with them.” The chubby girl explains. “It was actually being in Russia that helped me decide that I wanted to learn how to skate.”

“Really,” Eli says in slight awe, hugging her mug close and bringing it closer to her lips. “What was it that made you want to learn to skate, Yazawa-san?” 

She takes a quick sip of her hot chocolate and Nico places hers down before answering.

“The olympics I guess?” She frowns a bit. “I honestly don’t remember exactly why I wanted to skate. It looked fun and I tried it out and ended up being the best at it. So naturally I continued and now I’m still the best at it.”

Nozomi nudges her a bit roughly and Nico winces, mumbling an owe and rubbing the spot Nozomi hit.

“Don’t deny it, I’m the fastest girl on the team!” She declares, glaring at Nozomi. 

“I never denied it~” Nozomi says with a grin, “But it’s rude to brag about yourself in front of Ayase-san who hasn’t even seen just how good you are.”

Eli laughs lightly and Nico’s mouth forms a small ‘o’. 

“If it means anything, I did get to see part of your practice.” Eli comments. “I don’t know much about hockey, but it was interesting to see you two in your element.”

Nozomi and Nico laugh at the comment.

“Oh, you have yet to see us in our full element.” Nozomi says with a smirk. “When Nicocchi’s serious, the opposite teams never know what’s coming. She’s incredible.”

“And trying to score a point on Nozomi during a game is like trying to trying to climb a brick wall- note entirely impossible but not easy either.” Nico adds.

Eli laughs again and smiles warmly at the two of them.

“That sounds incredible. I’d love to see it some day.” She comments.

The two across from her share a gaze and Nozomi glances back to Eli, matching her smile. Eli blushes lightly and averts her gaze back to her hot chocolate. She takes a long sip of it and lets her mind wander to anything but Nozomi’s adorable smile.

“Would you like to?” Nozomi soon asks, “We’re allowed to reserve tickets for games every now and again. We could definitely get you one, or even a couple if you wanted to bring someone with you.”

“Like your family or your partner or anything like that.” Nico says absentmindedly

Eli almost spews her hot chocolate out on the two of them.

“I-I’m not seeing anybody!” She doesn’t know why that of all things is the first thing out of her mouth after she swallows her drink. “I-I mean, erm, I really wouldn’t want to impose or anything like that.”

Nico smirks.

“It’d be a gift,” She says. “Think of it as a ‘Thanks for letting us watch you skate even though we kinda just snuck in and you didn’t know we were there’ kind of thing.”

Eli blushes more and decides to change the topic.

“Just how much of that did you actually see?” She asks.

“Hmm, I’d say we saw enough.” Nozomi replies, “You were really beautiful out there. Is that your routine for your next competition?” 

Eli’s expression falters and she gazes down.

“God no, the Coach would never let that be my routine.” She grumbles bitterly.

She doesn’t continue to speak after that, deciding not to elaborate. Nozomi and Nico share a glance and the violet haired girl wonders if her question is a bit too personal. Nico frowns a little.

“Figure skating not all it’s cut out to be?” She asks, not caring about if the topic is something only a tier four friend might be able to ask.

Eli shakes her head.

“No, it’s not that.” She puts her mug down and frowns a little. “I don’t know, I could probably show it to her and get away with doing it in a competition, but that’s not really the problem.”

“What is then?”

Eli looks over to them. The two of them sit there, their eyes on Eli and watching her carefully. Eli can’t tell exactly what they’re looking for, or what they might want to know from her story, but she can’t sense anything bad. She tries to read their expressions a bit more, but without any prompting she begins to confess her feelings to them. About how the competitions don’t really mean anything to her anymore. Skating was never meant to be work for her, but now every time she was on the ice for reasons other than because she wants to be, nothing felt right. It didn’t feel fun, the thrill of competitions meant nothing to her anymore. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to be apart of this years figure skating competitions, but her coach was eager on her participating and encouraging her with words like “this will be your best year yet!” By the time her story is over, Eli feels like a large weight has been lifted off her chest. She feels free. She feels good.

Nico and Nozomi listen intently to Eli’s woes, not even bothered that this was the first day they had gotten to know each other really. They mull the whole story over, both considering ways they may be able to help Eli, or even words they could give her that might reassure or comfort her. Nico’s unable to come up with anything and finds herself stumped, but when she looks to Nozomi and see’s that knowing glint in her eyes, she can’t help but smile.

“I’ve got an idea.” She states, standing up.

Nico doesn’t say a word as Nozomi pulls her up from her chair and the two of them immediately head to Eli’s side of the table, pulling her up from her spot as well. Their beverages are left almost finished on the table as Nozomi drags the two of them towards the exit. With Nozomi pulling her by her hand Eli walks on confused and Nico simply holds onto Eli’s other hand and follows as she leads them away from the cafe and towards the arena.

* * *

 

“Are you serious right now?!” Eli hisses quietly at the two of them as they slip their skates on.

“Dead serious, Ayase-san.” Nozomi responds without skipping a beat. “Come on, there’s about forty minutes before the rink will close for sure. We won’t get in trouble, trust me.”

“She says that but just wait, we’ll get caught and then she’ll have to pull an excuse out her ass.” Nico whispers to Eli. 

Nozomi throws a glove at Nico and hits her directly in the face. If Eli wasn’t so afraid of breaking the ice rink rules, she’d be laughing. Unfortunately for her, she sits on the bench with her bag in front of her and the other two finishing up the laces on their skates.

“What exactly are we doing?” She asks them with a frown. 

“We’re going to skate. What does it look like~?” Nozomi jokes.

“Tojo-san…” Eli frowns and Nozomi smiles.

“Like I said, trust me. It will be worth it.” She gives her a reassuring pat on the shoulder before walking over to the ice. 

Eli looks to Nico with a frown and the black haired girl finishes tying the laces on her second skate. Nico faces her and shrugs. 

“I learnt a long time ago it’s a lot more fun to go along with Nozomi.” She starts, “And every time I have, it’s always been worth it.”

“What is she trying to do?” Eli asks with her frown.

Nico gives her another shrug.

“Guess we’ll just have to get on the ice and find out.”

She watches Nico head onto the ice, skating out towards Nozomi. Eli sighs to herself but gets her skates on as quickly as possible before skating out towards them. She still stands the tallest between the three of them and she crosses her arms, waiting for some kind of explanation on what to do next.

“Alright, we’re all here! Perfect.” Nozomi declares. “Now we’ve got one last thing to do.” 

She skates over to Eli and reaches out. Eli watches as Nozomi gently taps her arm, enough to put pressure on her but gentle enough where she doesn’t budge from her spot. She then pulls back and skates back a couple feet from Eli, turning to face away from her and shouting out to the two of them.

“Tagged her! Elichi is it!” 

She laughs before skating off.

Eli blinks in surprise, from both the nickname and Nozomi’s absurd idea being revealed. She looks to Nico for some more of an explanation but she finds Nico has already skated halfway away from her, not wanting to lose the game. Eli frowns unimpressed.

“Are you serious?!” She calls out. “We’re spending time that isn’t public skate time to play a game of tag?!”

“You got it!” Nozomi replies.

The blonde frowns more.

“I’m leaving.” She says, turning and skating towards the exit.

“Eh?! But we’re just getting started!” Nozomi skates closer to her. “You can’t leave just yet, give it a chance Elichi!” 

“I-I can so leave,” Eli stutters, “We shouldn’t even be here in the first place.”

“Let her go Nozomi!” Nico shouts, her hands cupped around her mouth. “If Ayase-san doesn’t wanna play, then its her loss! We can play without her!”

Nozomi frowns a bit to herself and Eli closes her eyes. Part of her really does want to stay and play around, but she knows the consequences of doing so. She skates closer to the exit, and just as she’s about to step off the ice, Nico shouts again.

“Eli’s just a chicken and she’s afraid she’ll lose to us!”

Eli freezes where she is. Her? A chicken?! She couldn’t let such a petty insult get to her but as Nico’s words replayed in her head, Eli felt herself become heated. She was no chicken. Being afraid of getting caught by authorities doesn’t make her a chicken at all, in fact most people tended to do things by the rules. That part doesn’t throw her off as much as the latter comment. Afraid she’d lose? Impossible. Even if Nico was the fastest skater on their team, she had never skated side by side with her. Eli could skate laps around her if she wanted.

Ignited by the fires of competition, Eli swivels and skates her way towards Nozomi. The violet haired girl blinks in surprise as Eli suddenly taps her on the upper arm, skating past her quickly and shouting as loud as she can.

“Nozomi’s it!” 

Green eyes light up and Nico smirks as Nozomi begins to skate after the blonde, not intending on letting her be free for long. Eli skates towards the end of the rink where Nico lingers and Nozomi is quick to follow. Eli and Nico both wait until Nozomi gets closer to speed past her, skating around her as fast as they can and leaving her in the dust. Nozomi laughs and turns around the bend, building up more speed and heading their way. 

Nico and Eli are closer to each other this time, waiting for Nozomi to get closer. As she does, Nico reaches out and grabs Eli’s hand. Eli looks over to her in slight surprise and before she knows it, Nico pulls her between her and Nozomi and Eli is quickly tagged by the violet haired girl. Nico laughs and Eli has a look of utter betrayal as Nozomi announces Eli’s become it again.

“That was dirty!” Eli shouts. 

Nico’s response is just sticking her tongue out at her. Eli narrows her eyes. She makes a small vow to herself to not be it for long.

She dashes in Nico’s direction and the black haired girl startles before skating off the opposite way. Eli can still hear Nozomi’s laughter and she leans forward, putting more force into her pushes and increasing her speed. She can see herself getting closer and closer to Nico, and just as the other girl is in her reach, she makes a dramatic turn, skating off to the side and leaving Eli to try to follow her. Eli gasps seeing the walls are a lot closer than she realized and she turns as well, narrowly missing them and zooming after the shorter haired girl again.

The rest of the time goes on like this. Eli eventually catches Nico after she fumbles around the bend, and Nico doesn’t bother to get revenge and instead goes after Nozomi. Back and forth the girls play the game of tag right up until the last few minutes the arena is open. They change out of their skates as quickly and quietly as possible and soon the three of them are back in the parking lot, their duffle bags on hand, sweat on their faces and enjoying the nice breeze of the cool night air.

“That was fun!” Nozomi says with a tired laugh. “I had a great time, we definitely need to do this again.”

“Are you kidding? My calves are gunna be killing me in the morning. I haven’t skated like that since I was a figure skater.” Nico groans, already dreading the leg pain she would surely feel tomorrow.

The three of them laugh and a comfortable silence falls over them. They reach Eli’s car and she places her bag on the hood, looking to her new friends and giving them a gentle smile. If it wasn’t so dark out, she may have been able to see the tiny blush the spread across both of their cheeks.

“Thank you for tonight.” She murmurs. “I don’t normally spill my feelings out to people I’ve just met, but you were both kind enough to cheer me up afterward. I really appreciate it.”

Warm smiles are sent to her in return.

“It was our pleasure,” Nozomi responds. “I’m glad we could help.”

“Though, you know next time there’s no way either of you are gunna be able to tag me.” Nico points out. “I’ll become twice as fast and be untouchable.”

They all laugh again, and Eli finds herself lingering on the idea of there being a next time. Hanging out with the two of them tonight had been one of the best things Eli had done in a long time, and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t looking forward to a next time with them. She wants to ask what time might be good for a next time, but before the words leave her mouth Nozomi begins to speak.

“Hey Elichi?” 

“Yes?” 

“Would it be alright if we could do this again sometime?” Her voice is slightly bashful and Eli can tell she’s trying hard to make eye contact. “Not just tag, but skating together.”

Eli doesn’t even need to think about her answer. 

“I would love to.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, commenting and for kudos! It really means a lot to me ;w;   
> and check it out! DoodleFox2 on tumblr has already drawn art of my favourite scene!! Please give it a look, they captured it wonderfully :') http://doodlefox2.tumblr.com/post/152159088412/from-this-fic-by-nozoroomie-read-it-its-very  
> For those curious about the forbidden friendship comment, that's the song Eli is skating to! I highly recommend listening to it and reading Eli's skating scene and see if you can see it as much as I could while writing it.


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